Scenario of English Language Teaching in a Bangladeshi School

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Scenario of English Language Teaching in a Bangladeshi School

DAFFODIL INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY DHAKA, BANGLADESH

DECEMBER 2019

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Present Scenario of English Language Teaching in a Bangladeshi School

A report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English

Course Code: ENG 334 Course Title: Project Paper

Fall 2019

Submitted by Afsara Tasnim Heme

ID: 162-10-405 Supervised by

Tahsina Yasmin, Associate Professor, Department of English Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Daffodil International University 10.12.2019

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Acknowledgements

I express my deep gratitude to Almighty Allah who has given me this opportunity to present the project on "Present Scenario of English Language Teaching in a Bangladeshi School".

I am also grateful to my internship supervisor Ms. Tahsina Yasmin, Associate Professor, Department of English, Daffodil International University for her guidance, cooperation, valuable advice and suggestions which made me successfully complete the project.

I am also thankful to my family members. Without their support and inspiration, I would not be able to work on the project.

I am also grateful to the principal, teachers and students of Univision School & College for giving me the opportunity to complete my project successfully on time.

Finally, I would like to give thanks to all my friends who have contributed to the project with their valuable suggestions and time during the project work.

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Abstract

This paper aims to explore the present scenario of English language teaching in a Bangladeshi school. An internship has been done in Univision School & College to fulfill requirements of the course title Project Paper (ENG 334). The intern has used her experience from the course ELT (English Language Teaching) and STS (Students Teaching Students). The main objective of the project is to focus on the English language teaching style and the methods, students’

communication skills and challenges of the chosen school. This paper has been made upon on the observation, interviews, teaching, students’ feedback and more analysis. The selected school is a private Bangla version school in Dhaka which bears the identical qualities like other private schools of the city. The school has been chosen to show the real conditions of the private schools nowadays. The study also focuses on practical learning for the intern. This study has been able to provide few recommendations for the betterment and development for the teachers, students and authorities of Bangladeshi high schools.

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Chapter 1: Introduction

English is the international language for communication worldwide. In Bangladesh, students are taught English as EFL (English as a Foreign Language). From class 1-12, English is a compulsory subject for students to get ready for future with the help of NCTB’s (National Curriculum Textbook Board) English books. So, the study on the

“Present Scenario of English Language Teaching in a Bangladeshi School” is a significant one.

The study started when my supervisor, Ms. Tahsina Yasmin, asked me to observe three different English classes and teach three different classes in a suitable school in Dhaka which is essential to complete the course Project Paper (ENG 334) as it is my last semester of B.A. (Hons) in English Program. I had selected a private school in Uttara, Dhaka to find out the teaching system of English language and its effectiveness on students. I met the Principal of Univision School & College, Md. Baki Billah, to ask for the permission to allow me to complete my internship in the school. He enquired about my internship and consulted with the teachers of the school, finally he gave me the permission to start my project in his school. I was allowed to observe and take classes of Six-Seven. So, from my observation of the classes, I found the old method is still being applied in the classrooms where teachers are only teaching and students are there to follow the instructions. The communication of the students and teachers are limited, they prefer to stick to their syllabus. But students are quite interested in learning and attentive too. Few students are very good at speaking and have a good understanding of English lectures. Teachers are also capable, but not encouraged to do experimental teaching. So, the condition of the classrooms is still very traditional. No multimedia is included in the classrooms and old teaching method is followed.

Finally, with the guidance of my supervisor, cooperation of the teachers and students, I have completed my internship on time.

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Chapter 2: Objectives

This study aims to the pursuit of how much the English Language teaching practice is effective to the development of students' language skills for sufficient communication in a Bangladeshi school. It also has more diverse objectives such as:

 To figure out teaching method used in the classrooms

 to determine sources and materials used in teaching

 To review students' development in language learning

 To recognize teachers' techniques and proficiency in teaching

 To enhance a new experience

 To suggest recommendations for improvement

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Chapter 3: Methodology

The study was a descriptive research which was focused to represent the present scenario of English language teaching in Bangladesh. The method which I followed to collect the data was class observation, teaching method, students’ performance, checklists and interviews with teachers and students. All the data had been analyzed descriptively. The study indicates that teachers follow the old method to teach students at classes, they aim to focus on academic results and students do not develop a good language skill.

3.1 Selecting an Institution

Selecting an institution is the essential part of my internship. I had tried to select an institution which could help me to gather new experience as well as I could contribute to the institution. I investigated different schools and gathered information at Uttara, Dhaka before selecting one. I found Univision School & College and felt that it would be a suitable one which represents the private schools’ standard in Dhaka. The school is a well established one and has a good number of students and teachers. The school is a Bangla medium school where I could find the method of teaching students English these days.

So, after being convinced, I met the principal and asked his permission to allow me to do this internship, he also responded in the positive. He ensured me to have a good

experience to work with the teachers and students at this school.

3.2 Selecting Classes

I asked Ms. Afroza Sharmin, the assistant teacher of the school who is also an English teacher to help me for selecting classes. It was already October, so class 8 and 10 were not having regular classes due to their upcoming board examination and test examination.

Grade 6, 7 and 9 were there. I selected grade 6 and 7 to observe their English first paper and grade 6’s English second paper classes. I selected grade 6 and 7 for teaching English first paper and grade 6's English second paper to teach. I selected the classes, I observed and also took the same classes to see the students’ performance.

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3.3 Selecting a Facilitator

Ms` Afroza Sharmin, assistant teacher, was my facilitator. She has been teaching in this school for last six months and the principal of the school introduced me to her to help me in the school. I found her very positive and friendly and asked her to be my facilitator to guide me. She happily responded. She introduced me with the students of her classes and asked them to interact with me. She also introduced me with other teachers at the school.

She shared her experience as a teacher with me and also advised me how to improve myself for taking classes.

3.4 Class Observation

Class observation helped me to understand the method of English language teaching of the school. I observed grade 6 and 7 English first paper and grade 6 English second paper at Univision School & College. In the classes, I observed the teaching method, teaching style, materials and its effectiveness in developing students’ communication skill in English. I noticed that the environment of the classes has an impact on both students and teachers mentally. My main concern was to observe teacher's sincerity, student’s

discipline, punctuality, teacher and student relationship to understand the teaching conditions. I wrote down all the important information of my class observations in the checklist for analysis.

3.5 Interviewing Class Teacher

There are six English teachers in the school who teach English from grade 1-10. I had interviewed three of them, Ms` Afroza Sharmin, class teacher of grade six, shared her teaching experience with me. Her concern was to complete the syllabus on time and prepare students for the exam only. Md. Jahid, assistant teacher, had shared his

difficulties to approach students to speak in English at classrooms because students were not ready to come out of their comfort zone of Bangla language. Md. Baki Billah, the Principal of the school, shared his plans to improve students’ communication skills.

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Chapter 4: Institution Details Name: Univision School & College Discipline: Science, Business Studies Location: Uttara, Dhaka

Land and building: One rented building Number of teachers: 25

Number of students: More than 350 Teacher's qualification: BA, MA Status: Private

Univision School & College was established in 2008 with the vision to provide

“Sustainable Education”. The school was founded by Md. Baki Billah, present principal of this school, who came from the UK after finishing his higher studies and wanted to contribute to the country's education system.

Univision School & College's endeavors are:

 To provide standard education

 To involve students in social work

 To encourage students in cultural activities

 To prepare them as future leaders

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Chapter 5: Class Observation Report

The school is a four storied building in a residential area of Uttara, Dhaka. The ambience of the area is peaceful. So, the area is suitable for students to study. The building is neat and clean and has enough space for light and air to pass. The school has 15 classrooms for play to class 10 and two rooms are kept as teacher's room. I have observed that all classrooms do not have multimedia facilities. Teachers have been using the old method to teach students with the help of textbooks and notebooks. In English first paper classes, teacher use a guidebook as her source of material to take the classes. The teachers I observed used both Bangla and English to teach the students. She gave the students to solve the questions from guidebook as class tasks. In English second paper class, the teacher asked students to write what they had memorized. He even made them practice few grammar exercises from guidebooks. The management of the class timing was accurate. Teachers generally come to attend and finish classes on time; they are very punctual. Students are very attentive towards their studies and eagerly listen to teacher’s instructions.

5.1 Class observation 1

I went to Univision School and College on 26 November, 2019 to observe my first class.

I observed class six's English first paper. It was the first class of the day; it started at 8:20 am. The teacher taking the class was Ms. Afroza Sharmin. The attendance of the class was less there were only 8 students in the class. The teacher started the class with

greetings and roll calling at first. She then inquired about their assignment which was due that day.

The topic of the class was to read a passage titled "Workers’ Problems of Bangladesh Abroad". At first, she loudly read the passage for students to follow her. Then she again made students understand it in Bangla. Students also asked her few questions when they did not have the clear idea of the passage. So the teacher patiently kept giving answers.

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Students were asked to solve the questions from guidebooks as their class activities such as multiple choices, true false and filling the gaps. They finished the task and the teacher asked them to share their answers to check in the class. I observed that students were quite good at those exercises and their answers were also right. The Teacher talked about their homework for next day and finished the class.

The teacher sometimes used English to conduct the class and she was very friendly to her students. But her way of teaching was quite boring and she used only guidebook as her material.

My second class was also on the same date from 9 am to 9:40 am. The teacher was also the same teacher who had taken the previous class, Ms. Afroza Sharmin. This class was class seven's English first paper. The number of students was 11.

The topic of the class was “Helen Keller’s” life story. The class started with the inquiry if students had submitted their assignments or not. After that the teacher started to read the passage from a guidebook, while students were following her. After completing her reading, she asked another student to read the translation in Bangla. Then she assigned them to do few exercises from the same guidebook. She checked their scripts and wrote a few verbs on the white board for students to write the past and past participle forms of the verbs. She gave them the right answers. The teacher at last gave them to complete more exercises as their homework.

She managed the class well and encouraged students to ask if they wanted to know more about Helen Keller. But the class activity was only limited to guidebook exercises.

Students were not encouraged much to practice communicative English skill.

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My third class was on 26 November 2019 from 11:20 am to 12 pm. This was an English second paper class of six. The teacher's name was Md. Jahid. The number of students was only 8.

The teacher started the class with inquiries how students were doing. He asked them what was the paragraph they had to memorize. They answered “A train journey”. The teacher told them to write it down in their copies as he would check them later. He gave them around 20 minutes to finish the writing. He checked the scripts with suggestions what they could do to improve their writing. Then he discussed the final question patterns with them. He talked about few rules of “voice”. He wrote few active sentences and told them to transform those sentences into passive sentences. After doing so, the teacher gave them the right answers. Before finishing the class, the teacher asked them to learn a new

paragraph for the next class.

The teacher was effective to prepare the students for their upcoming examination. It was a good initiative to divide the class into two parts where both writing and grammar could be focused on. But students should be given more time to work on the grammar parts.

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Chapter 6: Teaching Experience

I was instructed to take three classes. I had selected grade six's English first paper and English second paper and grade seven's English first paper. I collected the syllabus from the teachers and prepared a lesson plan to teach the students. I showed it to my supervisor for corrections and with her permission, I started conducting my three classes. As it was my first experience as a teacher, I was little bit nervous.

6.1 Class 1

I conducted my first class on Sunday, 27 October 2019 from 8:20am to 9:00am. I taught English first paper to class six and the topic of the lesson was "Taj Mahal". This topic was taken from their guidebook which was used as the material to teach students. They do not use NCTB text books in the classes.

I started my class by greeting the students. They were looking quite sleepy as it was the early morning class. Before starting my class, I did a little warm up with them to make them more active in the class. I asked them questions related to “Taj Mahal” and what they know to share with the class. Everyone got excited and shared information. Then I asked one of the boys to start reading the comprehension “Taj Mahal” and others followed him. After finishing the reading, I had given them time to make a 5-sentence summary of the passage and present it in front of the class. When they were prepared to present, I only asked those students who seemed little weak to me. They shared their summary and for their attempts, I gifted them chocolates. Then as the last task, I divided them into two groups – girls and boys groups. I told them to make questions from the passage to ask each other. I again gave them time to get ready with questions to play this quiz. Then they started to ask questions to each other. Girls group won the quiz and got my gifts. I finished my class giving them homework for the next day and asked if they had any questions related to the topic.

In the feedback, I received praises from the class teacher. She encouraged me that in future with practices I can be better in my presentation in classrooms in front of students.

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6.2 Class 2

My second class was also on 27 October, 2019. It was the English first paper class of grade seven. I started my class at 9:00am and finished at 9:40am. The topic of the class was "Global Warming".

I started my class by showing pictures of mills and factories and asked them how it was polluting our environment. They gave me answers. Then I suggested them to read the comprehension from their guidebook to know more about global warming. One of the students read the full passage. After finishing the reading when I asked them if the

passage is clear to them, they replied in the negative. I made them understand the passage with easy word choices. Finally, I asked them to write down the new vocabulary that they do not know the meaning of. They listed down the words in their copies. Later I told them to share with the class their vocabulary. As the final task, I told them to prepare a short dialogue conversation with the new vocabulary on global warming. I allowed them time to be ready. At the end of the class, students presented their dialogue. I gave them homework to finish doing the next exercises from their guidebook.

According to the teacher, I was good at my communication skill and I was able to handle the students properly. I had been suggested to work on my lesson plan.

6.3 Class 3

I conducted my third and last class on 27 October, 2019. It was grade six English second paper class held from 11:20 am to 12 noon. The topic of the class was email writing and grammar.

I started the class by asking questions related to emails. As the final examination was approaching for the students, the writing part was being memorized by them. So, I asked if they can present the email in front of the class rather than writing it on their copies as usual. Students said that they would do it. I gave them time to prepare and

enthusiastically students presented what they learnt. After this, I asked if they could say something more than memorizing, they even tried to present another email without

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memorizing, showed their English spoken skill. Few boys spoke very well. Then I shifted to the grammar part, I asked them definitions of tense. I wrote few sentences on the whiteboard and asked them to transfer them to past and future. Most of the students replied correctly. As I observed few students liked the class and participated, but few students were not participating. So, I asked those inattentive students to present a dialogue using different tense. They hesitantly performed. At the end, I gave them their next class's topic and ended the class.

I was praised by the teacher because of my energy in the class. I was told to continue conducting classes to increase my level of confidence in the classroom.

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Chapter 7: Overall Findings

7.1 Class Observation Findings

I observed three English Language classes at Univision School & College. I observed two English first paper classes and one English second paper of grade six and seven

respectively. I noticed that teachers were very punctual about class timings. They started and finished the classes on time. Both the teachers were very friendly to the students. The number of students was not very impressive, only 8-12 students study in a class. So, the level of competition is not seen in students’ spirit. In the classrooms, teachers followed GTM (Grammar Translation Method), teachers are translating English text into Bangla for students’ better understanding. In grammar class, the teacher again talked in Bangla and asked them to memorize writing parts. I felt, student-teacher relationship was very warm. Few students were very good at performance, but others were not that much attentive.

 Lesson preparation

Teachers did not have any specific lesson plan for their classes. In English first paper classes, the teacher was using guidebook as her material. She did not use NCTB's text book. She was teaching only for the upcoming examination syllabus.

In English second paper class, the teacher used another grammar book for the students to study for their writings.

 Lesson Delivery

Teachers tried to deliver their lecture in English several times. But students had few problems, everyone was not comfortable with English. So, teachers were translating their English lessons into Bangla for students’ better understanding.

Few students were asking different questions, teachers eagerly gave answers.

 Classroom Management

The teachers were managing classrooms properly. As the number of students was very less, 8-12 students were present and each class has around 15 students. Both boys and girls study together. It was seen that girls were talking in between

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classes, so teachers had to make them quiet a few times. But classroom was always under control.

 Use of technology

In the school, there are separate computer rooms. But no class has the access of multimedia to use. But they informed me that, sometimes, they take students to computer rooms to show few study related things online.

7.2 Teaching Experience Findings

Students were excited to have a new teacher in the classrooms. They welcomed me warmly with their friendly behavior. Even I was also feeling very good at classrooms with the children.

 Lesson Preparation

Before I conducted the classes, I had taken their syllabus to prepare the lesson plan. I was suggested by the teachers which topics I had to cover in the classes.

After preparing my lesson plan, I showed it to my supervisor and she corrected the errors in my lesson plans. Before I conducted my classes, I took a good preparation.

 Lesson Delivery

From my STS (Students Teaching Students) experience, I knew that teaching is a challenging job. I prepared my lessons so that it could contribute to their final examination syllabus. I was also careful about students if they understood my lesson or not. I told them several times to ask me if they were having any trouble in understanding. But they did not ask me anything. In my lesson plans, I

emphasized on students’ speaking in the classes without hesitation. Students also took part in speaking and enjoyed themselves. At the end of the classes, I got positive reviews from the students.

 Use of Language

I had taken my classes in English as I had observed in the previous classes that the teachers sometimes tried to deliver English lecture. But they could not continue due to lack of practice. I noticed that students had a good listening skill. I had

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taken my classes in English and urged students also to speak in English even if they were wrong. I tried to encourage them using English in the language classes.

Few students were able to speak in a good manner in English. This impressed me a lot.

I had taken three classes in one day which was quite tiring for me. I also had my lesson plans ready. But as a teacher, one has to take more than three classes each day which does not allow them to be prepared with a lesson plan for each class. Sometimes, in a school a teacher has to take someone else's class too which is allotted all of a sudden. So, my perspective of teaching in schools has changed as it might seem easy observing from far away. But it is one of the most challenging jobs, according to me.

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Chapter 8: Recommendations

From this very short experience of internship in Univision School & College, I found few areas where the school's English language teaching can be improved to provide more sustainable education to the students. I felt, few students had the ability to speak in English and it needs to be encouraged through more speaking related tasks. Students are dependent on memorizing for writing tasks and they are not fluent on reading. So the teachers and the authority of the school should come forward to help them to practice communicative English. For developing English communicative skill, students should be provided with more speaking related tasks at classrooms, English story books can be included to enhance their reading capacity. To improve their writing, they can be encouraged to write on their own.

As the teachers are the one who inspires students, their lesson plan and class curriculum can be more effective to engage students. Students' number is very less in classes, if the initiative is taken to prepare them in English communication skills, it would not be much difficult. Few students have the ability to shine very well in English. So, teachers'

spontaneity can bring a big difference in students’ English learning method.

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Chapter 9: Conclusion

I am glad that I have been able to finish my work successfully. This experience has added a new feather to my academic life. The main purpose was to observe the present scenario of English language teaching in a Bangladeshi school. I feel that I have achieved my purpose with this study. My aim was to show the effectiveness of English language teaching in schools and how students are developing their communication skills in English. I hope that my recommendation would help the school to improve their English teaching and this study would also benefit me in the long run.

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Appendices

Lesson plan Lesson plan-1

Univision School & College Lesson Overview

Course English 1^st paper Teacher/Facilitator Afsara Tasnim Heme

Lesson Outcome After attending the class, students will be able to 1. summarize a passage and present in the class, 2. make questions out of a passages,

3. develop critical thinking skill.

Class 6

Date 27.10.2019

Lesson Topic ‘Wonders of the World: Taj Mahal’

Activity Presenting the main theme, making questions and giving answers.

Learning Resources Guidebook

Duration 40 minutes

Phases Teacher’s activity Student’s activity Time 1 Teacher will warm up students’

by asking “what does wonder refer to?” and “what do they know about “Taj Mahal”?

Students will guess and share information.

5 minutes

2 Teacher will ask them to read the passage.

Students will read the passage. 10 minutes 3 Teacher will assign students to

make a 5-sentence summary of the passage.

Students will prepare the summary.

5 minutes 4 Teacher will ask them to present

the summary.

Students will present it in front the class.

10 minutes 5 Teacher will ask them to be

divided into two groups and make questions out of the passage.

Students will make questions. 5 minutes

6 Teacher will tell students to ask questions.

Students will ask questions to the other group and find out answers.

5 minutes

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Lesson Plan – 2

Course English 1^st paper Teacher/Facilitator Afsara Tasnim Heme

Lesson Overview After students attend this class, they will be able to 1. understand the reality of Global Warming, 2. improve their vocabulary.

Class Class 7

Date 27.10.2019

Lesson Topic Global Warming

Activity Students will read the passage, make a list of new vocabulary and prepare a dialogue.

Duration 40 minutes

phases Teacher’s Activity Students Activity time

1 Teacher will warm up the students by showing pictures of mills and factories.

Students will guess and talk about Global Warming effects.

5 minutes 2 Teacher will ask them to read the

passage.

Students will read the passage.

10 minutes 3 Teacher will ask them to make a

list of new vocabulary.

Students will prepare the new vocabulary list.

10 minutes 4 Teacher will assign them to

prepare a dialogue from new vocabulary list.

Students will make a small dialogue out of that

vocabulary list.

10 minutes 5 Teacher will give them the time

to perform the dialogue in front of the class.

Students will perform it in front the class.

5 minutes

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Lesson Plan- 3

Course English 2^nd paper

Teacher/Facilitator Afsara Tasnim Heme

Lesson Overview After students attend this class, they will be able to 1. write an e-mail,

2. identify tense,

3. practice their speaking skill.

Class 6

Date 27.10.2019

Lesson Topic E-mail writing & tense

Activity Writing e-mail & tense practice

Duration 40 minutes

phases Teacher’s Activity Students Activity time

1 Teacher will warm students up by asking about emails.

Students will share their knowledge.

5 minutes 2 Teacher will ask them to

present the memorized emails in front of the class.

Students will present it. 10 minutes 3 Teacher will warm up students

asking about tense’s definition.

Students will answer. 5 minutes 4 Teacher will practice tense in

the class.

Students will practice it. 15 minutes 5 Teacher will ask them to make

a short dialogue with different tense.

Student will present a dialogue with different tense.

5 minutes

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Photographs

Class Observation-1:

Students were listening to the teacher.

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The teacher was writing on the white board.

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The teacher was talking about voice change.

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Teaching Experience:

Class-1:

I was talking to the students.

Class-2:

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The student was reading the passage.

Class-3:

The student was presenting the e-mail.

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Scenario of English Language Teaching in a Bangladeshi School